Apparatus for storing article dispensers



May 20, 1969 KUYPERS 3,445,149

APPARATUS FOR STORTNG ARTTCLFI DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 20, 1966 Sheet of'2 $4 31- if" W3 I l l i .56 I I i l .22 46 U (H f i i l 1 i i .L .L .JL L J l I I I I l ATTORNEm. 4

May 20, 1969 N. T. KUYPERS APPARATUS FOR STORING ART ICLE DISPENSERSFila ad Oct, 20, 19.66.

Sheet 2 of 2 I l l I INVENTOR. Nonozar T Kuvpzrzs w \o 2 3 3 I Q of v LQ6 6 w ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,445,149 APPARATUS FOR STORDIGARTICLE DISPENSERS Norbert T. Kuypers, Warren, Mich., assignor to DlfcoLaboratories, Incorporated, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of MichiganFiled Oct. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 588,163 Int. Cl. A47b 81/00 US. Cl. 312-319 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A storage container for storingdispensers containing reagent or sensitivity discs, and an associatedstorage rack for holding a plurality of disc dispensing magazines whichfits inside the container over a desiccant retaining insert in thecontainer. The container and rack are particularly adapted for use withthe disc dispensing magazines, and the container for use with themultiple disc dispensers, disclosed in United States Patent 3,300,087.

This invention relates generally to storage containers, and moreparticularly to a container structure for storing dispensers containingreagent or sensitivity discs which are used in testing the sensitivityof microorganisms to chemical agents.

It is common in medical laboratory practice to employ sensitivity teststo determine which of several reagents kill or inhibit growth ofmicroorganisms in the specimen being tested. Discs for much sensitivitytests are made of absorbent material, usually paper, and each disc isimpregnated with a solution of a particular reagent. Typically, severaldiscs, each impregnated with a different reagent, are placed on a mediumto which the test specimen has been applied. The medium and discs areincubated, and during incubation reagents diffuse from the discs intozones in the medium surrounding the discs. After incubation the activityof the reagents is determined by inspection. If a particular reagent iseffective to inhibit or stop growth of the microorganisms, there will bea clear zone around the disc containing that reagent. On the other hand,if a given reagent has little or no efiect, the microorganisms will growup to the edge of the disc.

In earlier days, the reagent discs were used while still wet, but at thepresent time they are dried at the place of manufacture and then storedin a dehydrated condition in containers. The discs may be thus storedfor a long period of time, both prior to and subsequent to distributionto the ultimate laboratory user.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideapparatus for conveniently and economically storing reagent discs andthe like in a sealed environment, both during shipment and storage priorto sale, and during subsequent use of the disc by the ultimate customer.

Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character adapted tomaintain the atmosphere surrounding the stored discs dehydrated toprevent absorption of moisture by the discs, as well as to removemoisture picked up during periods of use when the discs are exposed tohumid atmosphere, so that the discs remain dehydrated until actuallydispensed or consumed in making the aforementioned sensitivity tests.

A further object is to provide storage apparatus of the above characterin which the discs may be conveniently and safely packaged for shipmentand storage while disposed in dispensing magazines.

Still another object is to provide an improved disc storage apparatus ofthe above character which is compact, rugged, economical to manufacture,which is readily and economically recharged with a desiccant or dryingagent 3,445,149 Patented May 20, 1969 ice and which provides a visualindication of the condition of the desiccant indicating when the sameneeds to be reactivated.

Yet another object is to provide a storage apparatus of the abovecharacter which is praticularly adapted for use with both the discdispensing magazines and multiple disc dispenser as disclosed in mycopending application Ser. No. 453,058, filed May 4, 1965, now UnitedStates Patent 3,300,087.

Other objects as well as features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the form of a storage container inaccordance with the present invention, with portions thereof broken awayto better illustrate details thereof.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2.--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective View illustrating a desiccant package inaccordance with the present invention used in the storage container ofthe invention.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of another form of storage containerin accordance with the present invention, with the right half thereofbroken away and shown in vertical center section to better illustratedetails thereof.

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of a storage rack of thepresent invention incorporated in the embodiment of the storageapparatus of FIGS. 5-8.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 88 of FIG. 7.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-4 inclusive, the sensitivity disc storageapparatus illustrated in these views represents an exemplary form of thepresent invention particularly adapted for use with a multiple discdispenser 10 of the type disclosed and claimed in my aforementionedcopending application Ser. No. 453,058, filed May 4, 1965. Generallyspeaking, dispenser 10 includes a stand 12 which supports severalmagazines 14, each containing a vertical stack of reagent discs 16.Magazines 14 are themselves single-disc dispensers, and each carries itsown ejector lever 18. The levers of all magazines in stand 12 areactuated simultaneously to dispense a plurality of discs simultaneously,one from the bottom of the stack in each of the magazines, by depressinga handle 20 mounted on a rod (not shown) which extends verticallythrough the upper end of a shaft 22 which in turn extends upright fromstand 12. Handle 20 is normally biased upwardly by a spring containedinternally. Stand 12 includes a tubular shell 24 which has an open lowerend 26 adapted to be placed over a petri dish (not shown). Shell 24 isadapted to support a plurality of magazines 14, for example eight, whichare removably inserted in shell 24 from the upper end thereof such thattheir lower ends are suspended, as shown in FIG. 1, a predetermineddistance above the lower end 26 of shell 24, the magazines beingarranged in a circle concentric with shaft 22 and shell 24. For furtherdetails of multiple disc dispenser 10, reference may be had to myaforesaid copending application.

In accordance with the present invention, an air-tight storage container30 is provided for housing the multiple disc dispenser 10 en route tothe customer, and also thereafter, in a sealed and dehydrated atmospherein order to maintain discs 16 in their original dehydrated condition.Container 30 includes a cup 32 open at its upper end and closed at thebottom by an upwardly curved wall 34 which presents a convex uppersurface 36 to the interior of the container. An external thread 38 isprovided around the upper end of the slightly upwardly diverging conicalside wall 40 of cup- 32, and a lip 42 projects radially outwardly fromand circum ferentially around wall 40 immediately beneath threads 38.Cup 32 is preferably made of air and moisture impermeable plasticmaterial, such as that known as polypropylene plastic, and may beeconomically mass produced by injection molding equipment.

Container 30 also includes a cover 44 having a slightly upwardly domedtop wall 46, a cylindrical skirt 48 dependent from the outer margin ofWall 46 and a hollow snout or dome 50 projecting upwardly from thecenter of wall 46. Dome 50 has an upwardly converging frusto-conicalside wall 52 and is closed at its upper end by a top Wall 54. A seriesof eight inwardly projecting and vertically extending ribs 56 (FIGS. 1and 3) are provided on the interior surface of wall 52. Ribs 56facilitate placement of cover 44 on cup 32 after dispenser 12 has beenplaced in the cup, these ribs guiding the cover by engagement withhandle to thus conveniently center the cover for threading on the cup.The upper ends of ribs 56 are located to closely receive the upper endof handle 20' to further insure against any sidewise rattling ofdispenser 12 in the container. The inner surface of skirt 48 hasinternal threads 58 (FIG. 1) adapted to mate with threads 38 forthreadably securing cover 44 on cup 32. When cover 44 is screwed all theway down on the cup, the lower edge 60 of skirt 48 falls short of lip 42in order to insure that an air-tight and moisture tight seal is madebetween the circular upper edge of the cup 32 and the underside of thedomed top wall 46. When container is thus closed with dispenser 12positioned therein as shown in FIG. 1, top wall 54 contacts the upperend of handle 20 and depresses the same against the pressure of thespring mechanism therein. By thus maintaining its actuating mechanism incompression, dispenser 12 is maintained securely in container 30 so thatit cannot rattle during handling or shipment. In the closed condition ofthe container, wall 46 of cover 44 is closely spaced from the upper endsof magazines 14 to likewise prevent upward movement or rattling of themagazines in dispenser 12. Cover 44 is preferably made of the sameplastic material as cup 32 and is also adapted for economical massproduction by injection molding equipment.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, container30 also includes a removable insert 62 (FIGS. 1 and 2), which issufliciently thin in cross sectional thickness (for example, about .018inch) and made of styrene or other suitable material so as to beyieldably and resiliently compressible radially of the insert.Preferably, insert 62 has the form of an annulus made up of a flat,annular radially extending center portion 64, the inner margin of whichdefines a central aperture 66, an annular seat or trough portion 68concentrically encircling and axially downwardly offset from portion 64,a downwardly and outwardly sloping frnstoconical wall portion 70connecting portions 64 and 68, an upwardly and outwardly inclined wallportion 72 joined to the outer margin of seat portion 68, and a radiallyoutwardly projecting circumferential lip 74 joined to the upper edge ofportion 72 and disposed coplanar with portion 64.

Insert 62 preferably has an outside diameter which is slightly largerthan the inside diameter of wall at the point where lip 74 engages wall40 when insert 62 is seated against the cup bottom wall 34 as shown inFIG. 1. However, the outside diameter of insert 62 is less than theinside diameter of wall 40 above a plane approximately in the vicinityof the section line 2-2 in FIG. 1 so that the insert has a clearance fitfrom the upper end of cup 32 down to this plane. Hence insert 62 may bedropped into cup 32 until lip 74 engages the inner surface of wall 40,and thereafter insert 62 must 4 be pushed downwardly into fully seatedposition. As this is done, lip 74 is cammed inwardly to thereby slightlyradially compress the insert, thereby firmly frictionally retaining itin seated position in the cup. Once in seated position insert 62provides a false bottom in cup 32 on which dispenser 12 is supportedwhen stored in container 30. Preferably the lower end 26 of stand 12 isdimensioned to rest on seat portion 68 adjacent wall portion 72, insert62 being deflected slightly downwardly by the pressure of cover wall 54bearing against handle 20. The resilience of insert 62 thus cooperateswith the internal springs of dispenser 12 to axially compress thedispenser in container 30, thereby further cushioning dispenser 12 inthe container and maintaining the same firmly seated against rattling. 1

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a desiccantpackage (FIG. 4) which is removably received in container 30 in thegenerally cylindrical cavity or space formed between portion 64 ofinsert 62 and the upper surface 36 of wall 34 (FIGS. 1 and 2).Preferably package 80 consists of a generally flat, square envelope ofheavy bond paper which is filled with crystals 81 of any suitableinexpensive desiccant material, such as silica gel. The top layer 82 ofenvelope 80 is provided with a central circular aperture 84 which iscovered by a patch of cellophane 86 glued to the inner surface of wall82 around the margin of aperture 84. Since both the paper material ofpackage 80 as well as the cellophane window 86 are permeable to watervapor, the desiccant crystals 81 within the package are effective toabsorb moisture from the atmosphere within container 30 to therebypreserve the original dehydrated condition of the desiccant discs 16stored in magazines 14.

Preferably crystals 81 are a commercially available indicator typesilica gel wherein the crystals are treated with a substance such ascobalt which visibly indicates the moisture content of the crystals. Forexample, the indicator may impart a blue color to the crystals when theyare dehydrated, but when they have absorbed sufficient moisture torender them substantially non-hygroscopic the indicator may impart a redcolor to the crystals. When containing a desiccant so treated, package80 makes it readily apparent to the user, upon removal of dispenser 12,whether or not the desiccant material within the package is due forreactivation. If such is the case, insert 62 is removed by gripping andpulling upwardly on the inner margin of portion 64 of insert 62 tothereby remove the same from cup 32, which then exposes package 80 forremoval. Package 80 may then be heated in an oven for several hours atC. to drive off the moisture from the crystals 81 and thus reactivatethe desiccant package. To replace the package, the same is merely laidon the center of the bottom wall 34 and insert 62 reinserted in placeover the package as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The inner margin of portion64 of the insert overlaps the four corners of package 80, which aredimensioned to just meet portion 70 of the insert, so that the packageis thereby maintained in centered position in the container with most ofthe package exposed in close proximity to the exposed discs 16 at thelower end of each of the magazines 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-8 inclusive, the sensitivity disc storageapparatus of the invention also includes a modified form of storagecontainer 100 which includes the cup 32, removable insert 62 anddesiccant package 80 described previously, but differs from container 30in that a domeless cover 402 is substituted for cover 44 and a novelstorage rack 104 for a plurality of magazines 14 is substituted fordispenser 12 to thereby provide a container which is adapted for storageof a plurality of disc dispensing magazines 14 which may be removed fromthe container for use individually as single disc dispensers or asreplacement magazines for dispenser 12. Cover 102 is adapted to form anair-tight and moisture-tight seal with the upper edge of cup 32 when athreaded skirt 106 of cover 102 is screwed down on cup 32. Cover 102 hasa top wall formed by an upwardly arched marginal portion 108 which isjoined by a vertical circular shoulder portion 110 with a raised centralportion 112. Preferably, portion 112 of cover 102 has a convex curvaturewhich matches the concave recessed surface 114 provided in the bottomwall 34 of cup 32, and the outside diameter of shoulder 110 is slightlyless than the diameter of the shoulder 116 formed at the junction ofsurface 114 with the surrounding thicker outer margin of wall 34. Aseries of cotainers 100 may thus be stacked one upon another withportion 112 of the cover 102 nesting into the recess 114 of bottom wall34 of the super-adjacent container, this nesting arrangementfacilitating centering of the containers one upon another in stackedrelation and also maintaining the stack in relatively stable conditionduring packaging and shipment by the manufacture, and also when stackingthe containers in refrigerator storage compartments in the customerslaboratory.

Storage rack 104 of the present invention cooperates with container 100to provide an interior support for a plurality of the aforementioneddisc dispensing magazines 14. Rack 104 is adapted to removably supportthe magazines in a vertically disposed array within the container, andis itself removable from the container with the magazines thereon sothat the customer has conveniently at hand a reserve supply of filledmagazines which may be individually removed to replace empty magazinesin dispenser 12 or for use as single disc dispensers. Rack 104 ispreferably made of the same material as dispenser 10, for example amaterial known commercially as Marbon GSM a.b.s. plastic and comprises acircular base having a cylindrical skirt 120 integrally joined at itsupper edge to a flat horizontal wall 122. Rack 104 also includes anupright carrying handle 124 made up of a hollow stem 126 integrallyjoined to the center of wall 122 and a knob 128 cemented to stem 126,these two portions being tapered inwardly toward their junction. Asshown by way of example herein, rack 104 is adapted to support in anupright array a total of eighteen magazines, six of these magazinesbeing arranged in an inner circular row around handle 124 and theremaining twelve magazines being arranged in an outer circular rowconcentric with the inner row. Knob 128 is disposed flush with the upperends of the inner circular row of magazines 14 (FIGS. 5 and 6), theinner magazines being supported by rack 104 at a slightly higherelevation than the outer row of magazines 14, the upper ends of theinner magazines projecting into the headspace provided beneath raisedportion 112 of cover 102.

Each magazine 14 in the outer row is removably supported in rack 104 bya pocket structure 130 which depends integrally from wall 122 of therack. Outer pockets 130 each comprise a cylindrical side wall 132 whichis open along its inner side to a slot-like cavity 133 (FIG. 6) whichextends radially inwardly therefrom. Cavity 133 is formed by a pair ofparallel side walls 136 and 138 and a curved end wall 140 (FIGS. 6 and7). The bottom of pocket 130 is closed by a flat bottom wall 142disposed parallel to wall 122. Each pocket 130 thus resembles a keyholein cross sectional configuration (FIGS. 6 and 7), the cylindrical cavity131 defined by Wall 132 receiving the tubular portion 134 (FIG, 5) ofmagazine 14 and the radial cavity 133 receiving the lever arm 18 of themagazine. The bottom wall 142 of each outer pocket 130 is offsetupwardly from the lower edge 144 of skirt 120 of the rack (FIG. 5) by adistance slightly greater than the vertical spacing between portions 64and 68 of insert 62 so that the lower edge 144 of skirt 120 may beseated on portion 68 and then slightly depress the same before bottomwalls 142 seat on portion 64. Each pocket 146 of the inner row issimilar to outer pockets 130, but the bottom walls 148 of the innerpockets are offset upwardly from bottom walls 142 such that pockets 146are spaced above and clear of package to provide an air circulationspace therebetween (FIG. 8).

As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, twelve outer pockets are equallyangularly spaced from one another in a circular row adjacent skirt 120,and the inner row of six pockets 146 are also arranged at equal angularintervals from one another in a circular row adjacent handle 124, withone pocket 146 disposed angularly between every adjacent pair of pockets130. With this arrangement the circumferential spacing between pockets146 is approximately equal to that between the pockets 130 and hencemagazines 14 in the inner row may be individually lifted and removedfrom the rack without disturbing the adjacent magazines in the innerrow. The angularly staggered relationship of the inner and outer rows ofpockets exposes the magazines in the inner row to view from the side ofthe rack so that indicia on the outer sides of magazines in the innerrow may be read without removing them from the rack.

The radially inwardly directed arrangement of the slotlike cavities 133of pockets 130 and 146 also serves an orienting function in that thiskeyhole configuration assures that the magazines when inserted in therack are always disposed with the sides thereof opposite arms 18 facingradially outwardly. Hence identification indicia imprinted on the outersides of the magazines is always presented to the view of the user. Thecircular array of magazines around the centrally disposed handle 124also facilitates quick selection of the proper magazine since the rackmay be readily spun about the axis of the handle, thereby reducing to aminimum the time involved in hunting for the desired magazine.

As best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the upwardly offset disposition of theinner row of pockets 146 relative to the outer row of pockets cooperateswith the central disposition of desiccant package 80 and the steppedconfiguration of insert 62 to promote air circulation between the loweropen ends of magazines 14 and the desiccant package. For this purposeeach bottom wall 142 is provided with a vent hole 150 at the center ofthe cylindrical cavity defined by wall 132, and likewise each innerpocket 146 is provided with a center vent hole 152. Due to the offset ofwall 142 above the lower edge 144 of skirt 120, there is an airspacebetween wall 142 and portion 68. Hence air can circulate as indicated bythe arrows in FIGS. 7 and 8 between the lower end of the magazine 14stored in pocket 130 and package 80 via hole 150, the space below hole150 (FIG. 8) and thence via the space between each pair of pockets 130(FIG. 7). Likewise, the further upward offset of the bottom walls 148 ofpockets 146 provides an airspace between vent holes 152 so that freecirculation exists between the bottom ends of the inner row of magazinesand package 80 to thereby insure adequate ventilation beneath themagazines and thus effect pickup of moisture from the discs storedtherein. In addition, the vertically offset relationship of pockets 146and 130 positions the upper ends of the magazines in each row closelyadjacent the top wall of cover 102 to thereby reduce or prevent rattlingof the magazines during handling and shipment of container 100.

From the foregoing description, it will now be apparent that the presentinvention provides an economical storage apparatus for sensitivity discdispensers or the like which insures safe handling and shipment of thedispensers, and which increases the overall reliability of thesensitivity test procedure by insuring that the discs are maintained intheir original dehydrated condition both during shipment and storage tothe point of sale and subsequently during use in the laboratories. Byproviding three parts, namely cup 32, insert 62 and package 80, for usein both storage container 30 and storage container 100, the total numberof parts is reduced, thereby effecting considerable economy inmanufacture. The desiccant package 80 cooperates with the removableinsert 62 to insure that the desiccant material is maintained in acentral position for most efiicient dehydration of the exposedsensitivity discs at the lower ends of the magazines. The spentcondition of the desiccant material in package 80 quickly shows up as ared patch through the cellophane window 86 of the package, therebysignalling to the user that the desiccant package should be removed andreactivated. This, coupled with the preservation of the discs in adehydrated condition, promotes greater accuracy and reliability in thesensitivity disc test procedure due to greater uniformity in themoisture content of the discs over an extended period of use. Althoughthe storage apparatus of the invention may take various forms withoutdeparting form the scope of the present invention, the particularconfiguration of the parts as shown in the drawings herein is preferredsince it represents a commercially successful production model whichlends itself to mass production injection molding techniques.

I claim:

1. Container apparatus for storing articles in a dry atmosphereincluding in combination a moisture impermeable cup-like receptaclehaving a bottom wall closing the bottom end of the receptacle and beingopen at the upper end, a moisture impermeable cover removably engagedwith the open end of said receptacle and adapted to form an air-tightseal therewith, a removable insert disposed in said receptacle adjacentsaid bottom wall thereof and adapted to form a false bottom in saidreceptacle, said insert having a center portion spaced from said bottomwall and having a central aperture for establishing communicationbetween the space below said false bottom and the interior space of saidreceptacle above said false bottom, and desiccant means removablyreceived axially between said center portion of said insert and saidbottom wall and in registry with said central aperture, said coverhaving a skirt provided with internal threads and said receptacle havingexternal threads at its upper end engageable with the internal threadsof said skirt, said closure having an annular portion joined to saidskirt and an upright hollow dome joined to the center of said annularportion, said dome having a generally frustoconical side wall and atransverse top wall, said cover being dimensioned relative to saidreceptacle such that in the closed sealed condition of said containersaid top wall of said dome is spaced from said insert such that amultiple disc dispenser received therebetween of the type having anupwardly biased spring-loaded actuating handle received in saidextension and a stand received in said receptacle is axially compressedby said dome top Wall and said insert to thereby prevent rattling of thedispenser in the container.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said dome has a seriesof axially extending ribs on the inner surface of the frusto-conicalwall thereof adapted to guide said dome along the handle of thedispenser when placing the cover on the receptacle of the container.

3. Container apparatus for storing articles in a dry atmosphereincluding in combination a moisture impermeable cup-like receptaclehaving a bottom wall closing the bottom end of the receptacle and beingopen at the upper end, a moisture impermeable cover removably engagedwith the open end of said receptacle and adapted to form an air-tightseal therewith, a removable insert disposed in said receptacle adjacentsaid bottom wall thereof and adapted to form a false bottom in saidreceptacle, said insert having a center portion spaced from said bottomwall and having a central aperture for establishing communicationbetween the space below said false bottom and the interior space of saidreceptacle above said false bottom, desiccant means removably receivedaxially between said center portion of said insert and said bottom walland in registry with said central aperture, and a storage rack disposedin said receptacle comprising a base open at its bottom end and closedat its top end by a transverse wall, said base having a dependentperipheral skirt seating on said insert, a carrying handle extendingupright centrally from said transverse wall arranged between said handleand said skirt, each of said pockets being open at its upper end andadapted to removably receive the lower end of a disc dispenser magazinetherein to thereby support said magazines upright on said rack.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein said pockets arearranged in inner and outer circular rows concentric with said skirt,the pockets within each row being equally angularly spaced from oneanother, said pockets in said inner row being disposed in angularlystaggered relation relative to said pockets in said outer row.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 wherein said pockets are eachformed with a generally keyhole-like cross sectional configuration witha generally cylindrical cavity adapted to receive the tubular body of adisc dispensing magazine and a slot-like cavity extending therefromradially inwardly of said base and adapted to receive an actuating armof the magazine of the type which pro jects laterally from the tubularbody of the magazine.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein said bottom wall of eachof said pockets has a vent hole aligned with the axis of the cylindricalportion thereof, said bottom' wall of each of the outer pockets beingoffset upwardly from the lower edge of said skirt at the open end of thebase of the rack such that the bottom wall is spaced above theimmediately subjacent portion of said insert to permit air circulationbetween said vent hole and said desiccant means.

7. The combination set forth in claim 4 wherein said insert has a fiatannular seat portion concentrically surrounding said central portion anddisposed in a plane offset axially downwardly from the plane of saidcentral portion, said seat portion being disposed in contact with saidbottom wall of said receptacle and supporting said central portionspaced above said bottom wall, said pockets of said rack each having abottom wall, the bottom walls of said pockets in said outer row beingoffset upwardly from the lower edge of said skirt a distance at leastequal to the axial offset between said central and seat portions of saidinsert and having a portion overlying said seat portion with a vent holetherethrough, the bottom walls of each of said pockets in said inner rowbeing offset upwardly from the bottom walls of said pockets in saidouter row and having a vent hole therein.

8. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein said bottom wall of saidreceptacle is arched upwardly and has a circular recess in the center ofthe under surface thereof and said cover has a generally upwardly archedtransverse wall with a raised circular center portion on the outersurface thereof dimensioned to nest within said recess of said bottomwall to facilitate stacking of a plurality of said containers one uponanother.

9. A storage rack for supporting a plurality of disc dispenser magazinesin an upright array thereon comprising a circular base open at itsbottom end and closed at its top end by a transverse wall, said basehaving an axially extending skirt dependent from the outer periphery ofsaid wall, a carrying handle extending upright centrally from saidtransverse wall, and a series of pockets dependent from said transversewall arranged between said handle and said skirt, each of said pocketsbeing open at its upper end and adapted to removably receive the lowerend of one of the disc dispenser magazines therein to thereby supportthe magazines upright on said rack, said pockets being arranged in innerand outer circular rows concentric with said skirt, the pockets withineach row being equally angularly spaced from one another, said pocketsin said inner row being disposed in angularly staggered relationrelative to said pockets in said outer row, said pockets each beingformed with a generally keyhole-like cross sectional configuration witha generally cylindrical cavity adapted to receive the tubular body of adisc dispensing magazine and a slot-like cavity extending therefromradially inwardly of said base and adapted to receive an actuating armof the magazine of the type which 9 projects laterally from the tubularbody of the magazine, said bottom Wall of each of said pockets having avent hole aligned with the axis of the cylindrical cavity of the pocket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,695,207 11/1954 Windsor 312-312,821,448 1/1958 Bender 312-31 3,135,566 6/1964 Frank 312-31 3,300,0871/1967 Kuypers 221-93 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

JAMES L. KOHNEN, Assistant Examiner.

